Home USB 3.0 hub recommendations needed

atkuzmanov · 9 Feb 2018 at 15:53

Hi there forum fellows,

First of all let me thank you for the wonderful forum, so grateful to everyone involved!

I am looking for recommendations for a USB 3.0 hub, one with 7-10 usb ports.
It has to work with a Macbook pro Retina without interfering with it's Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, as most of the ones I have looked up on Amazon have this problem mentioned by a lot of buyers.
It has to be powered from mains.
It will be good if it has 1 or 2 dedicated charging ports.
It will be good if it's supported by MacOS, but also Windows and Linux.
Budget: ~£30

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Kind regards,
atkuzmanov

ruthers · 11 Feb 2018 at 18:53

atkuzmanov said:
Hi there forum fellows,

First of all let me thank you for the wonderful forum, so grateful to everyone involved!

I am looking for recommendations for a USB 3.0 hub, one with 7-10 usb ports.
It has to work with a Macbook pro Retina without interfering with it's Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, as most of the ones I have looked up on Amazon have this problem mentioned by a lot of buyers.
It has to be powered from mains.
It will be good if it has 1 or 2 dedicated charging ports.
It will be good if it's supported by MacOS, but also Windows and Linux.
Budget: ~£30

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Kind regards,
atkuzmanov

Id have a look at some of Ankers products

atkuzmanov · 11 Feb 2018 at 20:16

Hi there @ruthers, thank you for the reply!

I did initially, however I think all I looked at had "wifi problems", "internet problems" or "bluetooth problems" in the ratings comments of people who bought them.

For example this one (if you go to the ratings, select "all stars" and search for "wifi" or "internet"):
Anker® 60W 7-Port USB 3.0 Data Hub with 3 PowerIQ Charging Ports

I have a MacbookPro Retina which I think is more vulnerable to these signal interferences compared to a Windows PC or laptop...

atkuzmanov · 11 Feb 2018 at 20:17

Does anybody have any experience with this one & a Macbook Pro for example?

ORICO 7-Port Aluminium USB 3.0

Puppetmaster · 12 Feb 2018 at 13:18

You cant post links to or discuss competitors here I'm afraid. I'd remove them and just post links to the manufacturers site or part numbers

atkuzmanov · 12 Feb 2018 at 13:46

Apologies, I must have missed that. I have now amended the previous posts and removed the links and left only make and models.

t31os · 12 Feb 2018 at 18:19

atkuzmanov said:
without interfering with it's Wi-Fi or Bluetooth

You'll likely always encounter some degree of interference with wireless and bluetooth connections as long you're using USB 3.0 depending on the devices, regardless of any chosen hub.

Intel's whitepaper about USB 3.0 and wireless connecitons(these issues apply to bluetooth also), explain the problem.
https://www.intel.co.uk/content/www...al-bus/usb3-frequency-interference-paper.html

If that's a bit heavy, you should be able to dig something up by googling for "USB 3.0 interference wifi bluetooth" or similar.

atkuzmanov · 13 Feb 2018 at 11:23

Thank you very much for the informative reply @t31os , it's very useful!

I didn't realise USB 3.0 interference was an actual thing, I rather thought it was just down to poor manufacturing.

I think what I will do then is I will get a USB 2.0 hub and maybe a small USB 3.0 one which I will only use on when needed basis.

Any recommendations for a good USB 2.0 hub?

t31os · 13 Feb 2018 at 18:32

I don't have a need for or use hubs personally, but i've always suggested Icybox for their better than average build quality and yet to hear any significant negatives.

Do you realistically need 7 additional ports?

If you have access to a mains socket(you mentioned charge ports and wanting mains powered), perhaps you could consider getting a plug with USB charge ports on to cover the charging portion of your needs, freeing you up from that requirement on the hub.

What devices are you needing to connect and what USB standard do they use? 2.0 or 3.0? It might be more straight-forward to grab a few different cheap models and stick to using whichever works best, rather than investing in one in particular and hoping it works out.

atkuzmanov · 14 Feb 2018 at 14:45

Thanks @t31os! I think this is exactly what I will do, no I don't need all 7, I will get 2 smaller and cheaper usb hubs, one USB 2.0 and for my main one and one USB 3.0 to use when I use USB 3.0 devices such as hard drives to get the USB 3.0 speeds.
Thanks all for all the help and useful information, I greatly appreciate it!

HoneyBadger · 14 Feb 2018 at 22:15

Check out UGREEN stuff, it’s good kit.

atkuzmanov · 18 Feb 2018 at 16:38

Thanks @HoneyBadger, appreciate the suggestion, I will check them out.